Jan Allaerts cartridges

The latest edition of Listener magazine has a review of the Allarets cartridge.

I would be interested to know the source of these cartridges. I doubt that she hand makes them, by hand winding the tiny coils, assisted by a microscope. They are most likely built under contract by a cartridge manufacturer that is already well known. If anyone knows the answer to this, I am interested purely from a curiosity point of view. It would likely be a hint at the expectations for performance.

Jan Allaerts cartridges are actually hand made in Belgium. The sonic performance is very airy and natural, and outplay Benz, Ortofon and Vandenhul in this respect.

Just a quick follow-up for those interested. I spoke to the importer, and Mr. Allaerts does in fact manufacture hand-made cartridges in Belgium. They range from $1500 (reviewed in the recent Listener issue) to $6000. He reportedly makes about 50-55 cartridges per year. Not sure for how long they have been produced, but they are (reportedly) gaining a good reputation in Europe. Any experience 'from the field' would still be appreciated.

I would like to humbly suggest the Miyabi Alnico (2995) as a very rewarding alternative. Reviewd by Art in Listener and received 5-star rating. Art stated it was the best he had ever heard and it also was the only high-end cartridge to appear in Listener's "Recommended Components" special issue.